Crispina's Recycled Textiles

An artisan does good by making goods recycling clothing into fine home products.

An artisan does good by making goods — recycling clothing into fine home products.

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Crispina's Recyled Textiles

Crispina's Recyled Textiles

"A thrift-store shopper, that's me," Crispina Ffrench declares proudly. "I would always go to the Goodwill and buy clothes, then cut them up to make different things. But I've never recycled just because it looks cool -- I really believe in it." While a student at the Massachusetts College of Art, Crispina parlayed her love of thrifting into a Berkshires-based business, Crispina, that patchworks home accessories out of repurposed sweaters, jeans, T-shirts, and corduroys. No two items are identical. "We incorporate buttons and pockets, so the blankets keep the details of the sweaters they're made of," Crispina explains. "People really connect with the fact that a blanket had another life. When I make a blanket, say, of 12 squares, that means 12 people wore those sweaters, so it has a history."

Natasha Milne

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crispina-yellow-fabric-WE0704

Cut goods, or dye-cut fabric scraps, are bundled and tied prior to being stitched into reversible patchwork patterns.

Crispina's Recyled Textiles

"A thrift-store shopper, that's me," Crispina Ffrench declares proudly. "I would always go to the Goodwill and buy clothes, then cut them up to make different things. But I've never recycled just because it looks cool -- I really believe in it." While a student at the Massachusetts College of Art, Crispina parlayed her love of thrifting into a Berkshires-based business, Crispina, that patchworks home accessories out of repurposed sweaters, jeans, T-shirts, and corduroys. No two items are identical. "We incorporate buttons and pockets, so the blankets keep the details of the sweaters they're made of," Crispina explains. "People really connect with the fact that a blanket had another life. When I make a blanket, say, of 12 squares, that means 12 people wore those sweaters, so it has a history."

Natasha Milne

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crispina-yellow-fabric-WE0704

Cut goods, or dye-cut fabric scraps, are bundled and tied prior to being stitched into reversible patchwork patterns.

Natasha Milne

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Crispina's Recyled Textiles

Scenes from the artisan's workshop: colorful skeins of yarn

Natasha Milne

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Crispina's Recyled Textiles

Crispina Ffrench's 1950s-era Singer 107 sewing machine was also recycled. It's one of several she purchased for $25 apiece from "a sewing-machine graveyard."

Natasha Milne

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Crispina's Recyled Textiles

Whimsical daisies are ready for application.

Natasha Milne

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Crispina's Recyled Textiles

A laundry basket holds a mélange of shredded scrap material.

Natasha Milne

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Crispina's Recyled Textiles

Rickrack, used to trim blankets

Natasha Milne

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Crispina's Recyled Textiles

Crispina demonstrates how "cut goods" are machine-stitched to create patchworks.

Natasha Milne

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Crispina's Recyled Textiles

More cut goods, sorted by color in soft shades of Peony and Sky, are the building blocks for plush and inviting baby blankets.

Natasha Milne

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Crispina's Recyled Textiles

Assorted swatches brighten Crispina's office with a rainbow of colors, from fuchsia to periwinkle to mustard.